Hi all, new member here, I have a 97 80 series petrol/gas auto and absolutely love it but we are doing a lot more trips towing a 2t off road caravan and the 80 gets a bit thirsty... Although not as bad as some of the figures I have seen quoted from some of the petrol Prado boys...
Anyway we are planning a trip around Australia and thought a diesel may be a better option for us both for fuel availability in remoter areas and economy while towing the van.We are looking at getting rid of the wife's Ford Territory and buying a 120 Diesel Prado auto but the more I read and having driven a few I am not sure if it is such a good decision so really need some honest feedback from owners and their experiences.
We test drove a couple of 2005 autos and found them to be severely lacking in power between 3rd and 4th, particularly when kicking down to overtake... at 100kph it seemed to take forever to accelerate to 120 and that was just with 3 people in the car so I assume it must be woeful towing a 2 ton van. The dealer didn't have a 120 D4D 5sp so we drove a 150 D4D 5sp auto VX and while a much smoother auto its acceleration was only marginally better. My cousins 2002 3.0 auto Patrol has better pick up and a mates 6sp manual Ranger leaves it for dead.
We have found a 2008 D4D auto GXL with 230000 k's on the clock, pretty much standard bar a ARB deluxe steel bullbar for $25000 which is in the ballpark for how much we want to spend however we have read some horror stories about the D4D engine. Are the stories true? Do these tow a 2 ton van ok when loaded up for a trip and what is the power/economy like? ... I have read figures of 18-20L per 100k's towing and at the price of diesel would cost more than my 80 towing on gas. Would a 6sp manual be a better option and how do they fare towing heavier loads?
We have pretty much ruled out a 1KZ auto but maybe a 5sp manual would do better as we hear the older engine is less prone to detonation... Really hard decision and we want to get it right so as not to end up with a car we aren't totally happy with.
Appreciate any and all help and advice.
Regards, Claws
Anyway we are planning a trip around Australia and thought a diesel may be a better option for us both for fuel availability in remoter areas and economy while towing the van.We are looking at getting rid of the wife's Ford Territory and buying a 120 Diesel Prado auto but the more I read and having driven a few I am not sure if it is such a good decision so really need some honest feedback from owners and their experiences.
We test drove a couple of 2005 autos and found them to be severely lacking in power between 3rd and 4th, particularly when kicking down to overtake... at 100kph it seemed to take forever to accelerate to 120 and that was just with 3 people in the car so I assume it must be woeful towing a 2 ton van. The dealer didn't have a 120 D4D 5sp so we drove a 150 D4D 5sp auto VX and while a much smoother auto its acceleration was only marginally better. My cousins 2002 3.0 auto Patrol has better pick up and a mates 6sp manual Ranger leaves it for dead.
We have found a 2008 D4D auto GXL with 230000 k's on the clock, pretty much standard bar a ARB deluxe steel bullbar for $25000 which is in the ballpark for how much we want to spend however we have read some horror stories about the D4D engine. Are the stories true? Do these tow a 2 ton van ok when loaded up for a trip and what is the power/economy like? ... I have read figures of 18-20L per 100k's towing and at the price of diesel would cost more than my 80 towing on gas. Would a 6sp manual be a better option and how do they fare towing heavier loads?
We have pretty much ruled out a 1KZ auto but maybe a 5sp manual would do better as we hear the older engine is less prone to detonation... Really hard decision and we want to get it right so as not to end up with a car we aren't totally happy with.
Appreciate any and all help and advice.
Regards, Claws
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